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Elite Hotels Go for Big Bucks
Of Business Conventioneers

By

Nancy KeatesStaff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal

Updated Feb. 21, 1997 12:01 a.m. ET

A gentle ocean breeze wafts through open patio doors into the hushed, marbled lounge at the Ritz-Carlton, where Gordon and Georgia Hurtuvise are enjoying a late-night vacation supper of club sandwiches and Mai Tais.

Suddenly, a group of salesmen, part of a 300-strong conference, bursts into the room. Guffawing, they whip off their jackets, sprawl across the elegant bamboo chairs and light up cigars. One starts banging out tunes on a corner piano. "It's obnoxious," complains Mrs. Hurtuvise. "They're loud, and...